toxic workplace – Adele Hawkes

Five ways to stay happy at work

adele — Fri, 03 Feb 2023 16:30:52 +0000

Happiness at work means good business. Adele Hawkes shares five ways to keep your employees happy for increased productivity

CREDIT: This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on Work Life and Practice Business

Understanding how to make people happy at work means great things for businesses; there are plenty of statistics that show just how important work happiness is for employers and for employees.

Research by The Guardian has shown that engaged teams can increase productivity by 20% and reduce staff turnover by a huge 87%. As a result, employees who are happy at work impact the bottom line, generating up to 43% more revenue. Similarly, Forbes reported that employee engagement and wellness can reduce absenteeism by 41%.

Employee happiness should matter to every organisation; here are five ways to make it matter to yours.

Encourage positive emotions

One of the biggest misconceptions about positive psychology is that it focuses so exclusively on the brighter side of life that it ignores the emotional complexity of being human. Recognising that our mental wellbeing is not entirely dependent on eliminating negative emotions is essential – in fact, discomfort, anxiety, fear and the like play a crucial role in our lives by flagging up areas where we feel challenged and signposting what matters to us.

The goal is always about balance, which means not succumbing to our natural negativity bias and acknowledging that positive emotions play an equally important role. Regularly experiencing things like joy, gratitude, hope, inspiration, enthusiasm, pride or fun at work help build psychological reserves that will actually act as a buffer when and if things get tough, helping people to reduce stress, persevere, come up with innovative solutions and cope more effectively.

Boost engagement

Have you ever felt so absorbed in an activity that time seems to disappear? In positive psychology, this is called being in ‘flow’, a state in which people often feel at their most industrious and contented. Unfortunately, without conscious attention, the opportunities for this intense sense of engagement can get swallowed up by the automatic assembly line of life. Perhaps, for example, you started a business because you felt passionately about the service you were able to provide, but most of your day now revolves around admin and chasing new leads. If that’s the case, it’s not surprising that you might start finding motivation hard to come by!

To boost engagement at work, there are three key areas to concentrate on – using your strengths (the things you are naturally good at), managing your emotions (through self and social awareness) and checking that your personal sense of purpose aligns with your employer of choice. This is the way to ensure you feel energetic, enthusiastic and able to optimally perform whatever task you are carrying out.

Build relationships

Positive relationships play a central role in a happy, functional work environment. Friendship, emotional support and connectedness to others are strongly correlated with positive emotions at work, while solid social ties foster a sense of resilience, belonging and even attachment to the organisation you are working for.

Having a collaborative team brings substantial wellbeing benefits, both subjectively (feeling positively about yourself and your life) and psychologically (looking after your mental health). It means you should never consider a quick coffee and chat with a colleague a waste of time; it can dramatically affect your overall satisfaction at work.

Find meaning

In which ways does your work give you purpose? It could be the opportunity to personally grow and develop, the chance to help others in some way and contribute to a higher purpose, or the opportunity to earn money flexibly, allowing you more time to pursue other passions and hobbies.

Connecting with your ‘why’ adds a real sense of value and commitment to your work that, again, can help build your resilience, overcome challenging situations and keep you driven despite tedious tasks or long hours. In short, it is one of the most empowering things you can do. If you are really struggling to identify why you are doing the work you do, it may well be time to start thinking about a change.

Celebrate accomplishments

Setting goals, and celebrating milestones along the way, are the final component to happiness. Taking steps to reach these goals – big or small – can significantly increase our sense of self-efficacy and motivation to keep achieving, especially when we focus on what we did, rather than what we didn’t do.

Remember, this isn’t about getting caught up in a spiral of intense pressure and perfectionism – when you evaluate your unrealistic goals against other people’s achievements, and find yourself lacking (‘comparison is the thief of joy’, after all) – no, this is about progressing and evolving in ways that are personally meaningful to you, and savouring every step of the journey.

You’ll also find that reflecting on your accomplishments gives you a good idea of where your strengths lie; this, in turn, this builds the type of solid inner-confidence and self-reliance that is an essential part of your roadmap to happiness, helping you secure that much coveted, long-lasting, personal and professional success.

Let’s talk about how to be happier!

adele — Fri, 19 Oct 2018 08:30:37 +0000

It’s been my absolute pleasure recently to have spoken to a number of businesses and organisations about how to be happier and why it matters. I love having the chance to share what I’ve learnt in a really practical way, and the feedback I’ve had so far has made me blush!

One of the things that has been noticeable during these talk is how it’s a topic that really connects with people. There seems to be a real appetite for learning how to take care of your psychological wellbeing in order to enjoy life more fully and become braver with the way we move through the world.

Because being happier isn’t just about that wonderful feeling that life is going your way, and you’re functioning optimally as a person. It’s also about feeling like you have the tools at your disposal to deal with whatever is coming your way. It’s about knowing your strengths and how to use them. It’s also about recognising when you’ve pushed yourself to the limit and need time and space to recharge.

In short, it’s incredibly empowering at work and in life.

If you think your company or organisation would benefit from a short interactive talk containing five potentially life-changing tips, please get in contact for more details.

How to cope with a toxic workplace

adele — Mon, 17 Sep 2018 12:20:48 +0000

We’ve all had a job we’ve hated for one reason or another.

My own personal low came during one of my first jobs after I’d graduated. It was an almost exclusively female environment and my co-workers were lovely.

The boss was not.

From the hundreds of examples I could give you, one that really sticks out happened at a ‘team-building’ day out. Someone made a sweet comment on my (very new) engagement ring, and a couple of the other girls gathered round to have a look. The boss walked over to see what the fuss was about. She looked at my ring for a second, extended her own hand and boomed, ‘That’s not a ring. THIS is a ring.’

Suffice to say, her people skills left a lot to be desired, doubly ironic given the industry we were working in (PR). I didn’t stay long – no-one did – but I certainly learnt a lot about what not to do if you want to create a happy and productive work environment.

Writing my latest article for The Ambition Plan (you can read it here) brought lots of memories of that time flooding back.

I’ve been incredibly fortunate since then to have worked with generous, creative and highly professional colleagues and bosses. If that’s not your current situation, I hope adopting some of the mindsets in this article help you push through while you are there.

But please also remember that no working environment is worth sacrificing your mental health for. If you are not able to influence a more positive working environment, be brave and start looking for something new.